My blog is about an alternative retirement lifestyle – Full-Time RVing. Here you get to follow my travels and see many of the interesting places and people I encounter along my way.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..

The border crossing between Guatemala and Honduras. From my book…”04/11-(Day101) At Puerto Barrios. On the road at 9 AM, heading for the Honduran border. We had no problems checking out of Guatemala. The road turned to dirt as we crossed the border and drove several miles to reach the small village of Corinto. Just a couple of years ago, the maps showed this road as a jungle path and we were not at all sure the road would be passable. We decided to give it a try because the alternate route would have been about 200 miles longer. We started filling out our visa and vehicle permits, only to discover that we had a major problem! The only copy machine in the village was not working, and down here you can do nothing or go nowhere, without making lots of copies of all the required paperwork! It being Sunday, we will have to wait until Monday and hopefully the copy machine will get repaired. We are parked on a side street where the locals most certainly have never seen motorhomes. We are a
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The Livingston, Guatemala Waterfront From my book…”I could take a whole trip report worth of space and not begin to share with you the experience we had today! This is the type of experience that can only be known by living it yourself! We all came back totally exhausted and totally fulfilled from our experiences. Today truthfully falls into the category of once in a lifetime experience! Someday I need to come back and spend more time here. In all my travels, this ranks among the very best! It’s about as opposite from New York City as you can imagine. We even got caught in the middle of the “Jesus Going to the Cross” procession (being Good Friday) where they were re-enacting the crucifixion. It was as crowded as a New York subway with 100 degree temperatures and humidity. Like I said, it will be a day I will never forget! We had by far the best and least expensive meal (and beer) of the entire trip! If you ever have the chance, I urge you not to pass up the Rio Dulce-Livingston expe
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Brilliant sunlight glares off of the Rio Dulce while on the way to Livingston. From my book…’04/09- (Day 99) At Fronteras. At 9 AM, we rented a boat (6 feet wide by 26 feet long with a sun canopy) for $25 U.S. per person for an all-day trip to the Garifuna village of Livingston which is 15 miles up the Rio Dulce on the Caribbean coast and can only be reached by boat. The guidebook states that “This is one of the most beautiful waterway experiences in Central America!” Everyone we’ve met along the way has said, “Don’t miss Rio Dulce or Livingston.” We didn’t miss it and we all are suffering from “SENSORY OVERLOAD!’
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Castillo de San Felipe. From my book…”04/07- (Day 97) At Finca Ixobel. On the road at 10 AM. We are still heading southeast with the best roads since we left the U.S. and NO SPEEDBUMPS! We transited through some beautiful country to the village of Fronteras, also known as Rio Dulce (Sweet River). We are parked in a public parking lot under the bridge which crosses the Rio Dulce. Being at sea level again means back to the higher heat and humidity. About 100 degrees and 100% humidity! For happy hour we walked about 500 feet down the street to the Hotel Backpacker which is right on the Rio Dulce riverfront. The river at this point is only about one-quarter mile wide and alive with boat traffic as well as being very scenic. We expect to spend three nights here.
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Only one of many! From my book…”04/01- (Day 91) At El Remate. We departed for Tikal at 9 AM. It took an hour to drive the 25 miles. Tikal can only be described by one word, AWESOME! During a five hour tour in which we walked about five miles, our guide Francisco told us Tikal covers an area of 30 square miles and it contains about 10,000 structures of which only about 1,000 have been uncovered. We climbed the two tallest, 212 and 190 feet high. The size and designs of the structures were intriguing. Tikal was occupied by about 50,000 to 100,000 people from about 600 B.C. to 1500 A.D. and has a mystical aura about it. A most exhilarating day!”
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Beautiful Guatemala children view their first RV Caravan From my book…”03/31- (Day 90) At San Ignacio. At 10 AM, we were on our way to the Guatemalan border about ten miles away. Upon arrival, we were “attacked” by the “moneychangers,” each wanting to change our Belizean or American Dollars into Guatemalan currency. We got 7.8 Quetzales to one American Dollar. It took only a few minutes to clear Belize and a couple of hours to enter Guatemala. They told me it was prohibited to tow a vehicle in Guatemala and wouldn’t give me a vehicle permit! To make a long story short, after an hour of haggling they finally relented and gave me my permits. I filled up the motorhome for the equivalent of $2.40 U.S. a gallon. The first 14 miles were terrible roads and took one hour and 15 minutes. We drove to the village of El Remate and are parked along the shore of Lago (lake) Petan-itza where there are a number of women in thigh-deep water washing their family’s clothes by hand. Because of limited,
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Some Belizean philosophy From my book…”03/24- (Day 83) At San Ignacio. After a couple of cloudy and rainy days, the sun is back! Bob, Bud, and I took the Bronco and drove to the Guatemalan Border about 10 miles distant in order to gather information prior to our crossing next week. We also visited the nearby Mayan Ruins of Xunatunich which were very interesting. I climbed the 130 foot tall pyramid structure called Castillo which in Spanish means the castle and in a way it resembles one. To get there, we had to put the Bronco on a small hand-cranked ferry for the 100 foot crossing of the Mopan River. A very enjoyable day.”
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Bud and I enjoy a swim under a waterfall From my book…”03/19- (Day 78) At Dangriga. At 10 AM Bud, Bob, and I took the Bronco and headed to the Cockscomb Wildlife Preserve about 25 miles away. It’s the only Jaguar preserve in existence in the world and it’s 120,000 acres. In addition, there are a number of other wild animals and over 300 species of birds. While we were told we would see few during the day, it was nonetheless a neat experience. We drove off the main highway six miles into the jungle. At the visitors center, among other things, we found out that from 30 degrees North Latitude to 30 degrees South Latitude there is 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. Also the temperature stays constant year round. We are currently at about 16.5 degrees North Latitude. If you remember, a short while ago I told you day or night, the temperature is within a couple of degrees of 80 degrees and that’s the reason why. We then took a two mile walk through the jungle to a delightful wate
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Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..